The New England Patriots’ handling of reserve running back Corey Kiner this week might be just a minor story. It also goes a long way to illustrate the reasons for Coach Mike Vrabel’s success running his teams.
Tough but fair, Vrabel cares about the development and nurturing of the talent on his roster. He’s also a realist, putting the team first.
Seeing the whole picture
Kiner stepped into the No. 2 back role behind Rhamondre Stevenson a week ago when TreVeyon Henderson went down with an ankle injury in the Raider game.
The former Arizona Cardinal ran hard with six carries for 52 yards. He also lost a fumble, something that Vrabel simply won’t tolerate.
Publicly, Vrabel looked to repair Kiner’s confidence.
“Again, we all have to take care of the ball, but Corey did a lot of really good things, so there’s a high confidence. Nobody notices or really talks about the guy that comes back into the gap and hammers the ball out. You guys always fail to mention that. You guys always just put it on the guy who has the ball,” said Vrabel.
“We all share in that, and we’ll be better. But I like the way Corey runs. Yes, he does have to hang onto the ball, and we’ve got to do a better job of protecting the guy and keeping people away from him.”
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Working all the angles
And while doing that, Vrabel and his personnel staff covered their bases off the field.
The team added some insurance, inking veteran Hassan Haskins to the practice squad.
And while Henderson and his high ankle sprain progressed nicely, the team reportedly brought in backs Ulysses Bentley, Terrell Jennings and Josh Pitsenberger for workouts as extra insurance this week.
Meanwhile, Vrabel continues to keep Kiner going in the right direction.
“He works extremely hard. It’s a new system for him. He didn’t have the luxury of being here since April like a lot of guys,” said the coach. “I just love his spirit, his energy. He’s willing to do whatever it is asked of him to help this football team.”
